My mushroom hunts from the later half of July were perhaps the most bountiful of all my hunting forays in 2023. The variety and quantity of different species that I encountered is almost as exciting for me to relive looking through my photos today during the cold, dark days of winter as it was to experience during in the sweltering heat of those muggy summer days.

My hikes at this time of the year were watched over by towering amanitas, fragrant chanterelles, and vibrant russulas alike, but of the many species that I came across during my time in the woods, none surpassed the boletes in sheer number nor variety.

From the intricately veined Frost's boletes to the shaggy Old-Man-of-the-Woods, the forest floor around me was bursting with life in a bounty of beautiful boletes. The great range of colors and size that these mushrooms exhibit make them among my favorite to hunt for each year. Though a few members, such as Caloboletus inedulis and Boletus rubroflammeus are mildly poisonous, many others, like Boletus variipes, Exsudoporus frostii, and Gyroporus borealis, and safe for the table once cooked. As my familiarity with this variety of fungal life has grown over the last several years, I plan to explore cooking with boletes much more in the summer to come.

I hope that this year will be as bountiful as the last!

Mid to Late July Mushrooms:

Frost's Bolete (Exsudoporus frostii):

Red-cracking Bolete (Xerocomellus chrysenteron):

Two-colored Bolete (Baorangia bicolor):

Bitter Bolete (Tylopilus felleus):

Red-mouth Bolete (Boletus subvelutipes):

Reddish Brown Bitter Bolete (Tylopilus rubrobrunneus):

Lanmaoa pseudosensibilis:

Ornate-stalked Bolete (Retiboletus ornatipes):

Caloboletus inedulis:

Ruby Bolete (Hortiboletus rubellus):

Gyroporus borealis:

Chalciporus piperatoides:

Old-Man-of-the-Woods (Strobilomyces strobilaceus):

Chicken Fat Mushroom (Suillus americanus):

Spotted Bolete (Xanthoconium affine):

Leathery-veiled Bolete (Paragyrodon sphaerosporus):

Pallid Bolete (Imleria pallida):

Boletus rubroflammeus:

Boletus variipes:

Ghost Chanterelle (Cantharellus phasmatis):

Great Funnel-Veil Amanita (Amanita velatipes):

American Yellow Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria var. guessowii):

Eastern American Platterful Mushroom (Megacollybia rodmanii):

Arkansas Slender Caesar (Amanita arkansana):

Dog's Nose Fungus (Camarops petersii):

Yellow American Blusher (Amanita flavorubens):

Summer Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus pulmonarius):

Brown-staining Cheese Polypore (Fuscopostia fragilis):

Berkeley's Polypore (Bondarzewia berkeleyi):

Brown American Star-footed Amanita (Amanita brunnescens):

Orange Gilled Waxcap (Humidicutis marginata):

Blue-green Cracking Russula (Russula parvovirescens):

Oak-loving Gymnopus (Gymnopus dryophilus):

Velvet-footed Pax (Tapinella atrotomentosa):

Crown-tipped Coral Fungus (Artomyces pyxidatus):

Bresadolia craterella:

Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus):

Amethyst Deceiver (Laccaria amethystina):

False Chanterelle (Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca):

Fluted Bird's Nest Fungus (Cyathus striatus):

Eastern American Jack-O'-Lantern (Omphalotus illudens):

Orange Mycena (Mycena leaiana):

Tender Nesting Polypore (Hapalopilus rutilans):

Bristled Parachute (Marasmius cohaerens):

Orange Grisette (Amanita crocea):

Peppery Milkcap (Lactifluus piperatus):

Perenniporia ohiensis:

Lumpy Bracket (Trametes gibbosa):

Cortinarius distans:

Wrinkled Peach (Rhodotus palmatus):

Fibroporia radiculosa:

Golden Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus citrinopileatus):

White American Star-Footed Amanita (Amanita aestivalis):

Beech Rooter (Oudemansiella furfuracea):

Pluteus leoninus:

Cortinarius Sect. Defibulati:

Hygrocybe Sect. Chlorophanae: